


Watcher

by SpinningLenny



Series: Things That Might Have Happened [5]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Cultural Differences, F/M, Relationship Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-03-11 12:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3326900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpinningLenny/pseuds/SpinningLenny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Primarch Victus has some concerns about Shepard and Garrus' relationship. When he raises them, Shepard gets to address some concerns of her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Shepard stepped out of the elevator on deck four and allowed herself a private little smile. Just on time.

From careful observation, she had figured that every other day, unless their shifts collided, at 1900 the mats came out. At 1905 they started warming up and at 1915 they moved on to sparring. And usually somewhere between 1930 and 1935 the shirts came off until they proceeded to cooldown at 1950. Which was why, every other day, Shepard took the elevator down to four at precisely 1940 and back up to the CIC at 1945.

To watch Vega, of course. Anyone would understand that, wouldn't they? All that sculpted muscle moving and flexing in carefully trained precision - who wouldn't take a minute to look? Of course, if anyone noticed, she'd tell them she was merely evaluating his hand-to-hand technique, as any good commanding officer should. But she doubted anyone would believe it.

So yes, her presence had everything to do with the hunky sweaty marine - and of course nothing at all with the less sweaty, but far more lithe and graceful turian who was at this moment giving him a run for his money.

Vega attacked from the left, Garrus countered, feinted, one sweeping kick - damn, but he did have _reach_ \- and he easily pinned Vega to the floor.

Lucky Vega.

After a moment of stillness, Garrus moved off the human, offered his hand and pulled Vega to his feet with that damnable fluid strength that always made her knees a little weak. The lights of the shuttle bay reflected off the plates on his back, and she imagined she could just make out the tiny scratches her nails had left during their private reunion almost two weeks ago. She hadn't really meant to, but he didn't seem to mind, and if she was honest with herself, it gave her some kind of instinctive satisfaction that he was wearing -

"Commander."

Only years of rigorous self discipline kept her from jumping out of her skin.

"Primarch."

_Nice going, Shepard. So busy ogling you didn't even hear the elevator arrive. ___

"May I join you?"

"Actually, I was just -"

"Please don't leave on my account."

_Great. Now you'll have to stick around or he'll be offended. Or think he has offended you. Or something. Yay diplomacy._

Together they turned to the window into the shuttle bay and watched in silence until Victus spoke again.

"Quite a view."

"You think so?"

"Don't you?"

He looked at her sideways and she shrugged nonchalantly.

"They're both skilled fighters. It's easy to appreciate that."

"Is that why you're here?"

"Aren't you?"

He was silent for several seconds, though somehow she was sure his attention wasn't on the sparring match. Eventually he looked at her again.

"Garrus speaks highly of you, Commander."

"Does he?"

"Very highly."

A sudden flush of warmth filled her at the thought, but something in Victus' scrutinizing stare put her on her guard.

"Then I hope I don't disappoint."

"I hope so, too."

Not for the first time, she cursed her stumped ability to decipher turian subvocals. She would have sworn there was a whole other conversation going on beneath the words, and she had no clue what it was about. Well, if he wanted the tone-deaf human to get the message, he'd have to come out with it.

"How do you mean?"

He turned back to the sparring match and fell silent, as though weighing his words with care.

"I realise that it is not my place to say anything, but still. Garrus and I have been working together for several months now, even before the attack. In that time, I have come to appreciate him, not just as a fellow soldier but as a friend. And as such, I would wish that if he thinks that highly of someone," and here he finally turned to face her, "that this person thinks highly of him, too."

It took several seconds for the pieces to fall into place, but then she almost laughed out loud. Adrien Victus, Primarch of Palaven, giving her a _relationship talk_? Of course, the short burst of amusement quickly gave way to a sinking feeling of _Oh crap_. They had tried to be discreet, and even though she hadn't fooled herself into believing they could keep their relationship entirely secret, she'd hoped it would take a little longer than two weeks for news to get around the ship. Still, she kept her face and voice carefully neutral when she replied.

"I agree with you on that."

"Do you? Good."

That seemed to satisfy him, but since he'd breached the subject, there was something that had been on her mind.

"However, I wouldn't want to let his ... regard for me get him into trouble."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know. Old enmities, prejudices. I'd hate to think that I'm holding him back in some way."

This time it was Victus who appeared to have difficulty putting the pieces together. After several seconds, though, he gave her a look that appeared almost offended.

"Commander, let me be frank. As long as Garrus adequately performs his duties, no one in the Hierarchy gives a damn where he sleeps at the end of the day. Or with whom. Of course he will be scrutinized closely, but I have no doubt that he will keep his personal matters away from his responsibilities."

She narrowed her eyes at that.

"So he is suspect just for being with a human."

"He is not suspect, and you are not merely a human, but also his direct commanding officer. That kind of relationship isn't exactly discouraged, but we are aware that it can lead to problems. Which is why it his his superiours' responsibility to keep an eye on him. Every turian is aware of this, and I have no doubt that Garrus accepted the situation when he entered the relationship with you."

She had to admit that sounded reasonable, in a turian kind of way. But still, the thought of Garrus getting scrutinized and judged at every turn didn't sit right with her.

"I don't suppose you could keep this under wraps for a while, could you?"

"I'm sorry, I don't follow?"

"Keep it to yourself, I mean. About me and Garrus. After all, you're here to watch him, so it doesn't have to go off the ship just now."

He cocked his head in confusion.

"Is this a human thing? That you don't want others to know of your involvement? Is this not something your superiours should be aware of?"

For a moment, she imagined Hackett solemnly updating her file with "Romantic attachment: Garrus Vakarian, turian". Then she shook her head.

"Among humans, it is customary to keep our ... involvements to ourselves and instead make sure our behaviour gives our superiours no reason to suspect of it."

"Hm. I see. Then I suppose your secret is safe with me."

Which was a relief, but not what she really cared about.

"What about Garrus?"

"What about him?"

"Are you going to keep his involvement to yourself?"

He studied her for a long moment, and that was when she felt it: that little coil in her solar plexus that told her something wasn't going according to plan. When she noticed his mandibles twitching in suppressed amusement, she knew her instincts were right.

"That would be quite a feat."

"Explain. Please."

He leaned back a little, looking perfectly at ease. And, she was very very sure, making fun of her.

"You have to understand that in the last few months, Vakarian has garnered quite a lot of attention. Not just the professional kind, but also, well, female attention. As I understand, there were some rather overt and, let us say, desirable offers made to him."

He paused and she did her best to hide the sudden stab of irrational jealousy. _We made no promises. And six months is a long time._

Victus almost seemed to savour the moment before he continued.

"He turned them all down. Didn't even seem to register most of them. Now, I don't know about humans, but for a turian of his age, that is rather ... remarkable if he is unattached.

"And then there is the fact that whenever he said more than two words about you, well. There is respect, and there is _respect_. One means that you are happy to serve under your commanding officer. And the other means that you'd be happy not just serving under her, but over and around and inside her, as well."

She kept her eyes locked with his and her face perfectly impassive. And prayed to every god she didn't believe in that he wouldn't know what it meant when a human slowly changed colour into the crimson spectrum. And even though she had only a rudimentary understanding of subharmonics, she would have sworn that he was fighting back his laughter when he continued, "Of course, now that you are back together, one only has to be in the same room as you to know."

"What? How?" _Eloquence, Shepard, you have it._ "I mean, how can you tell?"

This time he outright smirked at her and with a lazy swagger that even Garrus would be impressed by moved to the elevator.

"You don't know? I think I'll let him explain it to you, then. I wouldn't wish to ... offend."

He pressed the call button for the elevator, and his demeanor turned serious again.

"Of course this means that Garrus' superiours were also aware of the situation, and still placed him in his current position. So I hope you see that your worries concerning his standing are unfounded."

"Thanks. I think."

The elevator opened behind him and he stepped inside, but not far enough to allow the doors to close.

"Commander, I understand that Garrus considers himself a very lucky man and I see no reason to argue against that. However," he held her eyes for one long moment, "it is my personal opinion that you have every reason to consider yourself a very lucky woman, too."

He stepped back and the elevator doors closed between them before she could reply.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Shepard considered it a personal victory that she did not order Garrus up to the loft right away. Instead she waited until after dinner before sending an inconspicuous "want to come upstairs?" to his omni-tool, and less than ten minutes later, she heard the doors open.

Seeing him slump on her couch in exhaustion was almost enough to take her mind off the subject.

_Almost_.

Leaning back against the aquarium, she did her best to keep her voice nonchalant.

"I was having a chat with Victus earlier, and it seems that he has figured out that we ..."

She waved her hand to indicate the two of them. Garrus only chuckled.

"Of course he has."

She glared at him, even though he was presently bending down to unlatch his boots.

"Yeah, well, he seemed to think it was pretty obvious, too. Any idea why that might be?"

"Probably because you smell like you had sex with a turian."

Shepard closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. Mentally recited 'Never attribute to malice what can be plausibly explained by cultural differences' three times. Opened her eyes again.

"Excuse me?"

He finally looked up and when he caught her expression, his face changed from mild amusement to the expression she usually saw on the faces of hostiles, seconds before she warped them into biotic pulp.

"Ah. Um. I'm sorry?"

She took another deep breath and tried to school her voice into Diplomatic Negotiating With Possible Friendlies.

"Would you care to explain that last bit?"

She could almost see his mind racing as he turned over his words until he suddenly shrank into himself.

"Right. The, uh, the smell thing. Which is offensive to humans. I'm sorry, I really didn't - I just keep walking into that one, don't I?"

_There you are. Just oblivious, not nasty._

"It's okay. I'm not offended." At the doubtful shift of his brow plates she added, "Well, trying not to be, anyway. But I'd really like to know what this is about, so please explain it to me?"

He still looked uncomfortable, so she sat down next to him on the couch where he was fiddling with the clasp of his shin guard.

"I don't know how to say this without insulting you."

"Is it supposed to be an insult?"

"Of course not."

When he kept struggling with his words, so she took a deep breath and advanced.

"So I smell like I had sex with a turian."

"Yeah. And since Victus and I are the only turians on board, it isn't all that difficult for him to figure out what's going on."

That made sense. And raised so many other questions. Well, then. Time for a talk on interspecies differences. Shepard sternly told herself that this was a mature and rational discussion.

"So he can't smell that it's you specifically I've ... been with?"

"No. Well, he could, but only if you don't shower afterwards."

"Then what does he smell?"

All of a sudden, Garrus appeared very, very interested in the joints of his left gauntlet.

"Well, you ... don't shower on the inside, do you?"

Oh. _Oh._

She felt the blush starting to rise at her throat.

"Are you saying I'm walking around smelling like turian spunk?" _There goes mature and rational._ "Why didn't you _tell_ me?"

"Why would I? Can't you smell it yourself?"

" _No, I can't._ "

She glared at him as his eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Not even a little?"

"No, Garrus, not even a tiny little bit. I know this may surprise you, but humans are generally not capable of detecting body fluids once they are inside another person."

As she watched him process this obviously astounding piece of information, Shepard tried her best to get her emotions back in check. 

_Calm. Competent. Approachable. Definitely not freaking out over the fact that -_

"Like, _every_ turian?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Does that mean that every turian I've met over the past two weeks has been thinking to himself 'pyjak got nailed by one of ours'?"

"I don't think anyone would put it that way -"

" _Not the point_."

She pushed herself up and paced the room, mentally combing the last two weeks for every C-Sec agent, weapons merchant and anyone else she had encountered. Had the customs officer been leering at her? Had the 'special deal just for you' at the Cipritine Armory been more than just a business proposal? Did the -

"Um, Shepard?"

She turned to Garrus who was still sitting on the couch, his expression a mixture of alarm and bewilderment.

"Obviously this is a really, really bad thing. But could you please explain to me what exactly is the problem?"

"The _problem_ is that apparently I am now a walking advertisement for interspecies relationships."

"I see." He crossed his arms and leaned back, mandibles drawn tight. "You don't want people to know that you're sleeping with a non-human."

"No, I don't want people to know that I'm sleeping with anyone at all."

Again she watched Garrus's face take on the expression that said he was trying to figure out a particularly intricate problem. Eventually he asked, "Why not?"

"Because it's no one's business but my own."

"Of course not, but why would you want to conceal it?"

She stared at him, searching for any clue that he was playing dumb, or leading her on in some kind of game. She didn't find any. Apparently Garrus was honestly asking why she wouldn't want the entire galaxy to be aware of her sex life.

"Because I'd prefer not to have people talking about my private activities."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Why is that so hard to understand?"

Now he was studying her as though looking for a sign that she was making fun of him.

"Is this a Shepard thing? Because from my impression, humans talk about sex all the time."

"Yes, but most of us would rather not be the subject of discussion ourselves."

"So," he said slowly, as though piecing the sentence together word by word, "talking about other people is okay, but other people talking about you is not."

"Ye- No, that's..." _pretty accurate, actually. Not that we're going to admit that, of course._

"Let me put it this way: how would you feel if the whole Hierarchy talked about the fact that you're sleeping with a human?"

Garrus opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally he said, "Why would anyone do that?"

It was the complete and utter bafflement in his voice that brought her back to her senses.

_Calm. Rational. Pay attention to what he's saying, not what you are hearing._

"Are you seriously telling me that turians don't gossip?"

"Of course we do. About _interesting_ topics, like who was late for their shift or who doesn't keep their armour as clean as it should be."

"So turians don't think about sex at all?"

"No, turians think about sex all the time. But we generally only think about the sex that we're personally having, not the one someone else might or might not be involved in."

_Well,_ that _wasn't covered during exo-cultural training._

Her mind immediately buzzed with at least half a dozen questions, but the only one that made it out of her mouth was "Why not?"

Garrus's brow plates twitched in a turian eye roll.

"Because it's _boring_. Shepard, everyone knows that humans are obsessed with sex, who's having it, who's not having it, who wants to have it with someone they shouldn't. But have you ever noticed that most of us just don't care? Turians don't care, salarians really don't care, even the asari think you people have one-track minds."

"You don't even speculate?"

"Why would we? Everyone can tell what everyone else is doing, so what's the point in talking about it?"

Which actually made sense in a way, especially with their superiour sense of smell. But still.

"I just don't like people thinking about me that way."

"We don't. Just like ... " he waved his hand as though grasping for a way to make her understand. "If you see someone coming out of the shower, do you think about what they did in there?"

"I guess not."

"Exactly. As long as he doesn't spend three hours in the shower every day, it's really none of your business."

She turned his words over in her mind and had to admit that it was a rather apt analogy.

_Yeah, because you've never imagined Garrus in the shower, right? Or Kaidan, or James, or -_

_Damn. We really are sex-obsessed._

While she'd been busy with her train of thought, Garrus seemed to have had an epiphany of his own.

"So this is what the 'being discreet' thing is about? You're trying to hide this?"

There was an unhappy note in his subvocals that she couldn't place.

"Well, yeah. Don't turians do that, either?"

"Only if the relationship would be considered illegal. Or shameful."

She resisted the impulse to throw up her hands, but barely.

"For god's sake, Garrus, I'm not _ashamed_  of you. I just want to keep my private life private. Can't you at least try to understand that?"

"I'll try, I suppose."

"Thank you."

All right then. Time to make a plan. If smell was the issue, maybe she could switch back to using deodorant and scented soap. And figure out how to get a bidet installed in her -

Her thoughts came to a halt when she noticed the look on his face. He was watching her intently, his expression carefully guarded in a way she had seen before, but never directed at her.

"Something wrong?"

"No. Just... Look, if it bothers you so much, there's a simple way to make sure no one suspects you're having sex with a turian."

"Really? And that would be?"

He shrugged and turned his attention to the floor.

"Don't have sex with the turian."

For a second, she seriously weighed the thought before giving herself a mental kick.

_You knew there would be interspecies difficulties. Are you really going to give up as soon as you feel the least bit uncomfortable?_

She waited for him to look up, but when he didn't, she simply climbed into his lap and cradled his face in her hands until he met her eyes.

"I think we can both agree that _that_ is not an option."

She felt him relax a fraction, but still, he said, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable about this."

"I know." She rested her forehead against his until she felt the tension ease in both of them. "I'll get used to it. We humans just have some pretty strange ideas about privacy, but then we are a weird species."

Garrus chuckled softly.

"No argument from me here."

His hands started gently kneading her back, and she let herself relax and enjoy the sensation. Until suddenly her spine turned rigid.

"What's wrong?"

She felt the blush starting to creep up her body again. Could he really...

"Remember yesterday? When I, ah, surprised you in the battery during your afternoon break?"

He hummed deeply against her neck.

"Not the sort of thing I'd easily forget."

"I had a strategy meeting with Victus right afterwards. Are you telling me..."

She felt him shaking against her and smacked his shoulder.

"Garrus, this is not funny!"

"No, it's not."

He almost managed to keep the laughter out of his voice. _Almost_.

"I talked face to face to the Primarch of Palaven right after..." The blush had finally reached her face and she felt her ears burning. "What must he be _thinking_?"

"Probably that I'm a very lucky man."

His hands started massaging her back again.

"I told you, we don't really care about that sort of thing. But if it makes you feel better," he nuzzled her neck and she relaxed without even meaning to, "from now on I'll remind you to brush your teeth afterwards."


End file.
